addicted7369
New Member
HAHA NOT FUNNY:2guns::2guns:
clipless vs. platforms
- Thread starter addicted7369
- Start date
HAHA NOT FUNNY:2guns::2guns:
The Old Andy
Member
One man's trash is another man's treasure!
Ride clipless and never give it a thought.
wonderturtle
Well-Known Member
um, what?
clipsvs flats
my .02 would be to start out on flats and then go to clips. I only say this because i believe learning how to hop stuff is somewhat safer on flats than clips. Clips will give you more power for your stroke. It all depends on the type of riding your doing, but people who like to go fast should shoot towards clips in the long run IMO.
my .02 would be to start out on flats and then go to clips. I only say this because i believe learning how to hop stuff is somewhat safer on flats than clips. Clips will give you more power for your stroke. It all depends on the type of riding your doing, but people who like to go fast should shoot towards clips in the long run IMO.
The Old Andy
Member
"technical crap..."
you avoid it, just as I avoid firetrails and double-track and look for every last rock and feature to ride on. The stuff you consider crap is the gold I seek.
I don't think he meant it like "junk" so much as "stuff". Like, "I got a bunch of crap I gotta do today."
aedubber
New Member
I love platforms as they seem to work great for me, and if im going down some techy stuff downhill i can always reseat my feet asap when needed .Or if the trail is a bit tough i can just easily stop and get off.. Platforms i think work perfectly once paired up properly tho, the right type of show and right type of layed out pins on the pedal .
Stocky
Member
Not to bust on anyone , but the whole clipless , it's dangerous , I'm scared in the rock gardens etc ... is all in your mind .
Chances are if you tell yourself you can't make it through the rock garden with flats or clips , chances are you're not gonna make it .
I switched to clipless and never looked back . I've never fallen or gotten hurt because I was clipped in . Most pedals allow you to set the tension . I always pop out with no issue when I'm supposed to .
On top of that you will absolutely kill it on the up hill climbs . You will wonder why you waited so long to switch .
just my 2cents .
Chances are if you tell yourself you can't make it through the rock garden with flats or clips , chances are you're not gonna make it .
I switched to clipless and never looked back . I've never fallen or gotten hurt because I was clipped in . Most pedals allow you to set the tension . I always pop out with no issue when I'm supposed to .
On top of that you will absolutely kill it on the up hill climbs . You will wonder why you waited so long to switch .
just my 2cents .
The Old Andy
Member
I concur
a.s.
Mr. Chainring
Going to chime in again, just cause I'm sitting here bored.
Soon after I started riding mountain bikes (20+ years ago) I got into clipless. I had my share of fall-on-my-side-cause-I-can't-clip-out moments but after a few months I got pretty good at clipping in and out. When I took up DHing in the '90s I kept with clips and had no problem. That was until I had a nasty crash. I’ve had my share of bad crashes but this one was different. My feet didn’t come out of the pedals and I ended up doing a faceplant into some rocks, which resulted in me being airlifted to the hospital. After that I got spooked from using clips on my DH bike and switched to flats. I still rode XC clipped in but when it came to my downhill bike the last thing I wanted was to be glued to the pedals. It was much easier to bail from the bike on flats. But, there was one problem. I had been riding clipless so long that I never learned how to properly control my bike without being clipped in. I didn’t have any type of BMX background so I flat out (no pun intended) sucked at riding with flat pedals. My feet wouldn’t stay on and I couldn’t bunny hop to save my life. My buddies were all riding flats on their DH bikes and catching air as if they were clipped in. I knew I had to learn to master flats if I wanted to continuing downhilling so I swapped out the clips on my XC bike and rode that way for a few months. At first even hoping up onto a curb was awkward but I soon started to feel more comfortable and eventually got good enough that I could hop onto a park bench. When I switched back to clips on my XC bike it was like a whole new experience. My riding skills had really improved from riding flats that being clipped in just added another level of control I hadn’t realized before. It was eye opening.
For anyone who is serious about trail riding and who has already mastered clipless, I strongly suggest you learn to ride flat pedals. It will make you a better rider. For those of you who ride flats and have never gotten into clipless I recommend you learn to ride clipless because it does improve control, especially on rough climbs.
I guess my answer is to learn to ride both ways. This way you can switch according to where, when and what you plan on riding.
Soon after I started riding mountain bikes (20+ years ago) I got into clipless. I had my share of fall-on-my-side-cause-I-can't-clip-out moments but after a few months I got pretty good at clipping in and out. When I took up DHing in the '90s I kept with clips and had no problem. That was until I had a nasty crash. I’ve had my share of bad crashes but this one was different. My feet didn’t come out of the pedals and I ended up doing a faceplant into some rocks, which resulted in me being airlifted to the hospital. After that I got spooked from using clips on my DH bike and switched to flats. I still rode XC clipped in but when it came to my downhill bike the last thing I wanted was to be glued to the pedals. It was much easier to bail from the bike on flats. But, there was one problem. I had been riding clipless so long that I never learned how to properly control my bike without being clipped in. I didn’t have any type of BMX background so I flat out (no pun intended) sucked at riding with flat pedals. My feet wouldn’t stay on and I couldn’t bunny hop to save my life. My buddies were all riding flats on their DH bikes and catching air as if they were clipped in. I knew I had to learn to master flats if I wanted to continuing downhilling so I swapped out the clips on my XC bike and rode that way for a few months. At first even hoping up onto a curb was awkward but I soon started to feel more comfortable and eventually got good enough that I could hop onto a park bench. When I switched back to clips on my XC bike it was like a whole new experience. My riding skills had really improved from riding flats that being clipped in just added another level of control I hadn’t realized before. It was eye opening.
For anyone who is serious about trail riding and who has already mastered clipless, I strongly suggest you learn to ride flat pedals. It will make you a better rider. For those of you who ride flats and have never gotten into clipless I recommend you learn to ride clipless because it does improve control, especially on rough climbs.
I guess my answer is to learn to ride both ways. This way you can switch according to where, when and what you plan on riding.
HamburgerHill
New Member
Everyone is making really good points. It seems like Chevy vs. Ford, some people will always disagree.
Thats being said, I am on both sides. I've always ridden flat pedals because I didn't like the idea of being "stuck" on the bike. I have a fancy pair of Flats on my Rocky Mountain which is more of an all mountain bike and I couldn't see myself being clipped-in on that going through knar sections. I can't believe DH'ers use clipless....that is insane!! They must be amazaing or have balls of steel(or both). I just like the idea of being able to put my foot down if need be. I did my first race at the Mooch madness and everyone had clipless it seemed, and I took some heat from using flats.
SOOOOO...I recently purchased an 29er hardtail that I will be using for XC and racing. I borrowed a pair of Dan's old Shimanoes to see what all the fuss was about. I've only had about 4-5 rides on clipless but here are my thoughts so far-
PROS
-I definately felt more attached to the bike and could lift it up easier over obstacles. Rather then having to wind up for a bunny hop.
-I definately felt the pedaling was more efficient and you can adjust your power on the pull of the upstroke and compare it to when you are not pulling up at all. I constantly have to remind myself to do this, but when I do, I am much faster going up.
CONS
-ride around on the street and practice engaging/ disengaging. I did this for about a half an hour
-I find myself unclipping and walking through sections I would have blow through with my Flats and the Rocky. This might be because I am also getting used to a hardtail with 80mm compared to the 6" front and back I am used to.(so that might be unfair). I would still feel less confident though if I put my clipless on my Rocky. It's just a mental thing I guess.
-Going up loose climbs is when I fell over the most. I was exhuasted from climbing and then when I stood up to crank, my wheel spins, bike stops, and I fall over...haha. I guess when I am exhuasted I am not thinking about unclipping.
Each time I go out, using clipless is getting easier. I plan on getting better with them and once I am confident that I can get out, I will not back down to the Knar. I am told that with time, you will be unclipping without even thinking about it. When that happens, I am sold.🙂 For now clipless on XC, flats on Knar.
Thats being said, I am on both sides. I've always ridden flat pedals because I didn't like the idea of being "stuck" on the bike. I have a fancy pair of Flats on my Rocky Mountain which is more of an all mountain bike and I couldn't see myself being clipped-in on that going through knar sections. I can't believe DH'ers use clipless....that is insane!! They must be amazaing or have balls of steel(or both). I just like the idea of being able to put my foot down if need be. I did my first race at the Mooch madness and everyone had clipless it seemed, and I took some heat from using flats.
SOOOOO...I recently purchased an 29er hardtail that I will be using for XC and racing. I borrowed a pair of Dan's old Shimanoes to see what all the fuss was about. I've only had about 4-5 rides on clipless but here are my thoughts so far-
PROS
-I definately felt more attached to the bike and could lift it up easier over obstacles. Rather then having to wind up for a bunny hop.
-I definately felt the pedaling was more efficient and you can adjust your power on the pull of the upstroke and compare it to when you are not pulling up at all. I constantly have to remind myself to do this, but when I do, I am much faster going up.
CONS
-ride around on the street and practice engaging/ disengaging. I did this for about a half an hour
-I find myself unclipping and walking through sections I would have blow through with my Flats and the Rocky. This might be because I am also getting used to a hardtail with 80mm compared to the 6" front and back I am used to.(so that might be unfair). I would still feel less confident though if I put my clipless on my Rocky. It's just a mental thing I guess.
-Going up loose climbs is when I fell over the most. I was exhuasted from climbing and then when I stood up to crank, my wheel spins, bike stops, and I fall over...haha. I guess when I am exhuasted I am not thinking about unclipping.
Each time I go out, using clipless is getting easier. I plan on getting better with them and once I am confident that I can get out, I will not back down to the Knar. I am told that with time, you will be unclipping without even thinking about it. When that happens, I am sold.🙂 For now clipless on XC, flats on Knar.
The Kalmyk
Well-Known Member
Here is an interesting video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jT_ZrNfp4YM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jT_ZrNfp4YM
Interesting video. I've been saying that since clipless first became popular. I stopped using foot retention a long time ago when I realized that for me it was clear it offered no performance improvement. It's harder on your joints and increases the chance of injury to be attached. I plan on riding into my nineties and not using retention is part of that plan.
I Ride Bikes
Well-Known Member
Just curious. How many people here ride XC and DH and switch back and forth between clipless and flats. I ride both and ride flats on all my bikes. I want to try clipless out on XC but dont want to get used to being cliped in and start slipping pedals on the mountain.
I do. I ride clipless on everything except when I'm shuttling or at a park and on a big bike.
It's not that big of a difference if you've got good flats and shoes. The only time I notice is on bad landings if I bounce.
Now, if I was climbing steep, rooty or rocky crap with flats I'd probably miss clipless. Being clipped in tends to get me up some gnarly shit that I would have probably just put a foot down otherwise.
The Old Andy
Member
Thanks for that.
addicted7369
New Member
Going to get clipless pedals tomorrow
McKMtnBk
New Member
This post makes way to much freakin sense to me.
